Florida’s population has grown 11% since last Census

A new estimate shows Florida’s population grew by almost 11 percent in the past eight years.

The estimate released this week by the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research puts Florida’s population at 20.8 million residents as of this past April.

The estimate shows that Florida has grown by 2 million residents since the last decennial Census in 2010. The decennial Census is used for drawing new congressional and legislative districts.

The University of Florida research bureau arrives at its estimate using utility customers, homestead exemptions and building permits. The U.S. Census uses births, deaths and migration in its calculation and places Florida’s population at 20.9 million residents as of July 2017.

Florida is the nation’s third most populous state, trailing only California and Texas.